Damaged Tree Expected To Survive, But Some Limbs Could Be Trimmed

HARTFORD — — The vandalized tree at Elizabeth Park is expected to survive, but will be "somewhat disfigured" after a few of its long, sleepy limbs were severely damaged over the weekend, the park's foreman said Monday.

One thick branch that curves skyward will likely die, Rocco Cianfarani said. It was stripped smooth of its bark sometime during the annual Rose Weekend Festival and carved haphazardly with names, initials, hearts and other signs of juvenile love or boredom.

If the limb starts to brown, Cianfarani said, the park will saw it off. Another branch might also die.

"It will be standing, it just won't look as nice as it does," Cianfarani said of the red cedar, believed to be at least a century old and original to Elizabeth Park. "It's a shame."

Police were investigating the vandalism on Monday after the park filed a formal police report in the morning.

It's unclear what time the tree was damaged — only that the knifing must have taken a while. Among the many rough markings along the limbs was Sunday's date, "6/19/11." A tour through the Heritage Rose Garden, where the tree stands close by, indicated nothing out of the ordinary Saturday afternoon, park workers said.

Sunday afternoon is when the park rosarian, Marci Martin, noticed the vandalism, according to Cianfarani.

But a park visitor told the Courant that she noticed the stripped bark and carvings on Saturday evening, a time when the park was teeming with sightseers. Thousands visited the park throughout the weekend for the famous festival.

Elizabeth Morin, a city parks employee who tends to Elizabeth Park's roses, said there's only the occasional instance where someone attempts to trim off a few flowers, which makes the case of the red cedar stunning.